This invention is directed to a method and system for creating a view at the screen of an individual's computer, and more particularly, creating a view corresponding to a remote location with conditions similar to those at the location of the viewer.
Computer users, trapped at their desks, often seek relief or a break by staring out the window or by searching the Internet for views of other places. It is known in the art to transmit a synchronous photos or camera video across the World Wide Web to a user's computer. However, these views are often unsatisfying as they do not truly mimic the function of a virtual window. The synchronous photos and web-based videos are not correlated with the user's actual environment.
First, the uncorrelated images, such as those from a synchronous, distant web cam, may prove useless during a user's waking hours. If one is viewing a web view from a remote location on the other side of the world, when viewing during the day, the synchronous web cam feed may be entirely pitch black as it will be nighttime corresponding to the user's day. By way of example, a web cam at the Grand Canyon would be, aside from the possible stars and moonlight, completely dark to a user in Paris for most of the Parisian daytime. It can be readily seen that nature web cams are useless to viewers separated from the camera by several time zones.
Secondly, as the virtual view becomes larger, of higher quality, and therefore more realistic, the immersive experience of the virtual view will be disappointing. This is because the images viewed in lieu of the view from the viewer's actual window will prove disorienting if in fact the conditions of the virtual view, which are designed to resemble a window, do not correspond to the conditions at the actual location of the user. In other words, seeing a virtual rainy day at the remote location when in fact it is sunny at the actual location of the view.
Accordingly, it is desired to provide a system and method for providing a virtual view, which overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art.